Beside The Ocean
by KatieB373
Summary: Caroline is a senior at Whitmore college and her dad is finally giving her the keys to the beach house for her final spring break. It's supposed to be a friend-cation until the blonde haired blue eye strangely familiar boy from down the beach catches her eye and steals her heart. All- Human. Klaroline. Inspired by the song Rollercoaster by Luke Bryan.
1. Young in America

**A/N: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, The Originals or any of their characters. If I did, Caroline would be in New Orleans with Klaus! Always & Forever.**

Caroline couldn't believe she had finally convinced her dad to let her take her friends to their beach house in Myrtle Beach for spring break this year! She hadn't been there since she was 15 years old. She and her friends were sick of PCB and wanted to something new and exciting for their last spring break hoorah!

"Here you go CareBear" Bill Forbes said as he handed his daughter the keys. "Stay safe, always travel with a buddy and don't drink too much."

"I'm always safe Daddy! I will never leave the house alone and I can't guarentee anything about the drinking" Caroline said to her dad and winked. They both laughed at that.

Bill Forbes wasn't born yesterday. He had partied pretty hard in his day. These girls would be just fine.

"Girls! Let's go!" Caroline called into the dark house that hse shared with her 3 best friends. "We are already running behind schedule! At this rate we won't get there until noon!"

"Care!" Katherine groaned. "I'ts only 5:30... I'm sure you'll still get us there before noon."

"Where's Bonnie and Elena?"

"They're grabbing their purses. I call shot gun though!"

"Bye Daddy!" Caoline yelled as she climbed into the silver topless Jeep Wrangler her dad had gotten her as a high school graduation gift.

"Bye girls! Have fun!" Bill called as he watched his baby girl and her friends pull out of the driveway and head off into the sunrise.

"Ok, so we have a five and a half hour drive ahead of us. Tha's not including pits stops. I'm hoping to still get there before noon" Caroline rambled.

"Care, relax. We'll get there when we get there. Besides, Bonnie and Elena didn't hear a word you just said because they are already fast asleep again" Katherine cut her off.

"Fine. Then it's just you and me Kat. Pull out my phone and find my road trip playlist. Let's jam!"

The 1st song to play from the shuffled list was one of Caroline's favorites.

 _'Woah, oh, ready set go! Gotta get outta this small town! Woah, oh, the open road, air to breathe the sun is shinin' down. You and me and the land of the free so baby let's run, while we're young in america!'_

It truly fit their lives. They desperately needed to get out of the small town they called home. Whitmore.

The 5 1/2 hours went by fairly quickly. They only stopped for gas twice and now were only about five minutes away from the beach house.

"Ladies! Welcome to Myrtle Beach!" Caroline squealed as she passed the welcome sign.

All Caroline could think about was that it sure was good to be back. It had always felt like a second home to her and it sure was good to be home. She had been thinking about the childhood friend she had made so many years ago and hoped that her family still had their beach house in the area and that hopefully she would be in town for her spring break as well.

"We're here!" Elena exclaimed.

All four girls hopped out of the Jeep and ran up the front steps to the door.

"Come on Care! Open the door!" Bonnie giggled as Caroline continued to fumble with the keys.

"Here we go" Caroline said as she turned the key and opened the door.

They spend the next hour unpacking and exploring the house. Caroline spent the 2nd half an hour in the patio room. This is where she had spent most of her time here growing up. This is where her and her childhood friend Rebekah would play secret spies while Bill was working on the interior of the beach house. Caroline never realized how much she missed Rebekah until she had finally made it back here to Myrtle Beach. It brought back a lot of really good memories.

"You ok Care?" Katherine asked as she sat in the chair across from Caroline.

"Yeah. Just thinking about the last time I was here" she replied. "Let's go get the other girls and find something to do tonight."

The girls reconviened in the kitchen and decided on taking a walk down to the boardwalk for their night time activity.

They were strolling down the boardwalk when someone had called out to Caroline.

"Caroline?! Caroline Forbes?!"

"Rebekah?!" Caroline called back as she ran to hug her childhood friend.

"It's so good to see you" Rebekah said as she hugged Caoline. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too Bekah!" she replied as she finally opened her eyes. She saw her 3 other friends staring on in confusion as well as a slim, blonde and curly haired guy with a "know-it-all" smirk plastered on his face. _'God he looks familiar'_ Caroline thought.

"Let me introduce you to my friends! Bekah, this is Katherine, Bonnie and Elena. Guys, this is Rebekah. We used to spend our summers together here as kids!"

"It's so nice to meet you all!" Rebekah smiled.

"Nice to meet you too" Katherine, Elena and Bonnie replied in unison.

"Our group was just heading for the ferris wheel. You guys should join us!" Rebekah suggested. "Then I won't have to ride the thing with my bloody brother."

"Sure" the girls responded.

They all linked arms and headed to the ferris wheel. Caroline looked back over her shoulder for her blonde familiar stranger but he was nowhere to be seen.

They stood in line for the ferris wheel for what felt like forever. Then the line started moving. That's when Caroline saw him again a couple rows back talking to the guy that she had seen hitting on Rebekah 20 minutes ago.

Everyone began to load the ride and Caroline was lined up to ride with Katherine. Caroline climbed onto her bench but when she turned to her side to say something to Katherine about her handsome stranger she was met with the "stranger" himself.

"Hello love" he said with an all-knowing smirk.

Caroline's eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of her head. "Well hello to you too" Caroline replied with a smile.

"You're even more beautiful than I remember Caroline"

"How do you know my name?"

"Ouch. Has it really been that long?"

"I know you look familiar" Caroline started.

"Nik, quit harassing Caroline!" Rebekah called from a few benches up.

Caroline's eyes went wide again. "Klaus?"

"How've you been love" he asked. Caroline would swear he had a smirked painted on his face.

"I've been good. Hoping to finish college with my perfect GPA of course!"

"Where did you end up going to school?"

"Well Whitmore of course!" Caroline giggled.

She and Rebekah had always dreamt of attending Whitmore together and sharing a dorm. They used to be inseperable. Well, until Caroline's dad left her mom and her mom refused to let her go with her dad to the lake house and her dad couldn't bear to go there with all the memories they shared as a family.

"I remember when you and Rebekah would beg my mom to take you on road trips to visit that school and buy you all the Whitmore clothing you both could fit in your closets. You both would ramble about all the shenanigans you planned to get into together on campus and within your dorm room."

"Yeah Rebekah and I always were pretty inseperable weren't we?" Caroline said reminising about the good old days.

"You sure were. It borke her heart to go and find your family beach house empty that fateful summer" Klaus replied.

"I will never forgive my dad for never letting me come back until now. I still can't believe it's been seven years since I've been here."

"Even though Rebekah hasn't seen you in years she never stopped thinking of you... neither have I" Klaus admitted quietly.

Caroline scooted closer to Klaus in the bench seat as they were reaching the top of the wheel while the attendant was still loading all the new riders. "I never stopped thinking about you either Nik" Caroline smiled as she used the nickname that only Rebekah was allowed to call him. She was surprised when he didn't repremand her for it. He just smiled back and pulled her in even closer to him.

"Good to hear" he murmured as he kissed her hair taking in the scent of vanilla and peonie flower.

Caroline had always held Klaus's attention back when they were kids. Rebekah had told him not to get any ideas back then though. Caroline was Rebekah's first real friend and he didn't want to intere on her newfound friendship with the neighbor girl from down the beach. But he couldn't help but admire from afar. Even at 15 years old she was beautiful and she'd only gotten more beautiful as she got older.

"Thanks for hopping on this ride with me" Caroline said breaking their comfortable silence.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be" Klaus replied.

Just when he was about to kiss her the ride picked up and they were flying up the back of the wheel and Caroline began to giggle. When they were on their decent back down the front Caroline gripped Klaus's hand as the ride made her giggle with excited and the sensation of a tickling in her lower stomach took over. Holding Klaus's hand had felt so right and it was a natural instinct to grab onto whateve was closest to try and sturdy yourself. She was glad it was his hand. He didn't pull it away either so that instilled some confidence in Caroline.

When the ride was over and the attendant was unloading the passengers Caroline and Klaus got stuck at the top of the wheel again. This time Klaus didn't hesitate when Caroline turned her head. He caressed her cheek as he pulled her in for a kiss. It was short and sweet but passionate all at the same time. When he pulled away he let his forehead rest against Caroline's.

"I'm glad you let me keep this seat" Klaus chuckled as he pulled away to look Caroline in the eyes.

"Me too" Caroline said.

As everyone got off the ferris wheel, they made their way to congregate by the ticket booth.

Klaus guided Caroline over with a hand on the small of her back. Even though it was such a small gesture, it sent shivers up Carolin's spine and caused her skin to reveal goosebumps.

That said gesture didn't get past Katherine but she kept her mouth shut and decided to save her interogation for later.

"So what's next guys?" Caroline asked smiling at all her friends.

Rebekah piped up then and invited them all back to their beach house for a bonfie.

"Meet us at the house around 9? Caroline you know wher it's at" Rebekah called as she headed back down the boardwalk.

"I'll see you later?" Caroline asked with a grin.

"Of course love" Klaus anwered as he pulled her close and kissed her forhead as she hugged him. "I'll see you soon."

Caroline let go of his embrace and turned to her friends with a smile so bight and bright thinking that if this spring break was going to be anything like what tonight has been like so far; it's going to be the best spring break ever.

 **A/N: I feel like I should explain some things that I skipped originally because it just didn't flow with the way I want this story line to go. This story is inspired by the song Rollercoaster by Luke Bryan. If you haven't heard it yet you should definitely go and check it out! It's the song that has inspired me to write again! Anyways, I wanted to explain why I have Klaus and Caroline moving so quickly. Some of you may think it is unnatural for him to have kissed her already (and very OOC) This is a All Human and semi- AU story so bear with me. Remember that Klaus and Caroline knew eachother 7 years ago but never persued each other because Klaus didn't want to take away from Rebekah's newfound friendship in Caroline. This is my first fic that I've actually liked what I've written and would love to hear from all of you lovely readers. So please, drop me a review! I'd love to hear from you! Good or Bad! :)**


	2. My Kinda Night

**A/N: I know! I'm awful! I haven't touched this fic in a whole month! Let's just say I was going through a really hard time but having gone through that I feel much better and it's actually inspired me to write again. It means a lot that some of you have followed, favorited and reviewed this story! I can't believe the feedback I received off the first chapter. I also posted that chapter on my Tumblr. You can follow me there at Katieb373. Thank you again for all your support so far for this story! I hope you enjoy this next chapter and I'll see you at the bottom. Please remember I don't own anything. If I did, Caroline would be by Klaus's side.**

Chapter 2

It was currently 8:30 and Caroline had been ready for the past 2 hours and there was still ½ hour before her and the other girls were expected at the Mikaelson's for the bonfire.

"Care?" Katherine asked as she peeked her head around the corner of the door frame.

"Hey Kat" Caroline smiled. "What's up?"

"You seem anxious, have since we got back from the boardwalk. Is everything ok?"

Sometimes Katherine could be so intuitive. She knew Caroline better than she knew herself.

"I'm just excited to be here Kat. I've been looking forward to this trip for a really long time. The Mikaelson's being here at the same time we are is just making it that much better! I haven't seen them since that one summer where my dad just refused to make the trip and broke my heart. I'm glad I'm getting to spend time with them too."

"Caroline, you're rambling. What are you trying to hide?"

"It's just… I always had a really big crush on Rebekah's older brother Nik and today he kissed me. I'm not sure what to think of that."

"Well did you kiss him back?"

"Of course I did! Have you seen Nik?! You would be nuts if you didn't kiss him back!"

"Caroline, I remember when you would come home after spending a summer here with your dad and the Mikaelson's. You never stopped talking about Klaus! You have been butterflies and heart eyes for that boy as long as I can remember. So what's wrong with exploring those feelings farther now?"

"I've had my heart broken before, by a boy just like him Kat… Remember Tyler? Klaus has always been a playboy. I mean that's what Rebekah always wrote to me about when we tried to keep in touch over the years. I don't want to have my heart broken again, especially by Nik." Caroline sighed as she let all her feelings out in front of Katherine.

"Care, you really need to relax. You haven't seen ANYONE since you broke up with Tyler. It's time to put yourself back out there. You've always had residual feelings for Klaus so just go for it! Broken hearts be damned!"

"Thanks Kat. You always know how to make me feel better."

"Just be you Care. If he doesn't like you, it's his damn loss. I mean look at you!" Katherine winked at her friend as she lifted herself off the bed and walked out the door. "Ladies! We are leaving in 10 minutes!"

Caroline just giggled to herself. They had definitely rubbed off on each other over the years.

Those last 10 minutes were probably the slowest of Caroline's life.

"Care?!" Bonnie yelled down the hall as she approached Caroline's room. "You ready?"

"You bet!"

…

"Nik! The girls are going to be here in 30 minutes! For the love of God will you please get out of my room so I can get ready?!" Rebekah had been nagging at Klaus to get out of her room for the past hour. If she was going to look anywhere near decent she would need to get her brother to get the hell out and fast!

"Fine Bekah. I'll leave you be"

Rebekah hurriedly pulled herself together so that she could set out lawn chairs around the makeshift fire pit.

"Nik I'm gonna need you to light the fire!" Bekah called through the house.

Klaus had just emerged from the bathroom off the side of the foyer. "Be there in a minute Bekah!" Klaus called back as he headed towards the stairs to get a shirt from his room.

'DING DONG'

"I got it!" Klaus called to his other siblings as he answered the door. Shirtless.

"Hey Nik" Caroline said as Klaus opened the door and let Katherine, Bonnie, Elena and herself into the foyer.

"Hello ladies" Klaus greeted them. "Fire will be lit shortly but feel free to make yourselves at home out back. Grab a drink and get comfortable!"

"Thanks Klaus!" Elena and Bonnie said as they ran out the back patio door to find the alcohol.

"Come on Care" Katherine whispered. "Quit ogling over Klaus and let's go find the booze"

"I'll see you later" Caroline said as she giggled and followed Katherine out the patio door as well.

Klaus just laughed as he made his way up the stairs to grab his shirt. He could feel it. Caroline Forbes was going to steal his heart before the week was out.

It only took Klaus a total of 2 minutes to get a roaring fire started for Rebekah and it was just in time for all the other guests to arrive.

"Thanks Nik! You're the best!" Bekah said as she kissed him on the cheek and ran off to greet the rest of her guests.

A few hours had passed and it was just after midnight. Bekah was clearly drunk. Caroline's friend Katherine was too busy trying to seduce Elijah to notice anyone and Bonnie and Elena were off gossiping about God only knows what. As Klaus surveyed the situation and debated going to bed he spotted Caroline on the back patio by the cooler talking with Kol.

Kol always had a crush on Caroline as a young kid. Now that they were both older the poor lad probably thought he had a chance. Klaus scoffed to himself. He'd show that little brother of his who Caroline truly wanted.

Klaus had always been the jealous and possessive type. He couldn't help it. When he wanted something, he got it and he protected it. He wanted Caroline and there was no way his kid brother was gonna sweep that girl off her feet right under his nose.

"Kol, go bug Bekah before she runs off with Marcel again tonight" Klaus said as he approached the two.

"Nik! I was just telling Caroline the story about the jellyfish that one summer!" Kol laughed.

"Beat it Kol!"

"Klaus, that wasn't necessary" Caroline interrupted.

"Well maybe I just wanted you to myself" Klaus replied.

Caroline just gave him a small smile. "I've really missed this place. I even missed this crazy family of yours"

Klaus just took in her radiant smile and the sound of her laugh. He truly had missed her light in his life. "We've missed you too love."

"It's good to be home" Caroline said. "But, there's something I really need to talk to you about."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"It's about what happened today… on the boardwalk." Caroline was nervous. She wasn't really sure how this conversation was going to go or that it should even happen but she had to know. She needed to know why Klaus had kissed her.

"What about it"

"Why did you kiss me Klaus?"

"I can tell you're being serious because you've stopped calling me Nik. You want to know why I kissed you?"

"Yes I do! I think I deserve an explanation. I only ever heard from Rebekah over the years. Never anything from you or Elijah or Kol. So why? Why now?"

"Caroline, I kissed you simply because I wanted to. The moment I saw you today, you left me breathless and speechless. I suddenly felt like I was home again. I've discovered today just how much I truly missed you over the years. I am so sorry I never wrote to you or called or emailed. I should have. I wanted you to know right off the bat how I felt about you."

Caroline just smiled at him. She was still confused about some things but she couldn't help by smile. The boy she'd crushed on her entire childhood and had not seen in YEARS liked her as much as she liked him. Klaus took that opportunity to close the distance between them and slant his lips over hers.

Caroline pulled away when her mind had finally caught up to what was happening. "You really need to stop just kissing me. I like you Nik, a lot. But I'm just really afraid to open up to you. I've been hurt before. You live in a completely different city than me? How is this supposed to work? I never heard from you before so what's to say I'll never hear from you again after this week? I'm scared…"

Klaus stood there in awe of this woman. She was opening up to him more than she probably thought she would and he was so thankful she was being this honest.

"How about you head back to your place, sleep on this. We'll talk tomorrow ok? You look exhausted.'

Caroline sighed. "Okay."

Klaus pulled her into a tight squeezed hug. "Goodnight Caroline.

"G'night Klaus. Thanks"

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow" Klaus said as he watched Caroline walk away from him.

He made a vow to himself then and there that he would never hurt this amazing woman. She was kind and passionate and headstrong and independent and so much more. He would do everything in his power to be the man that she deserved.

…

 **1 O'clock AM**

Klaus was still hanging out by the beverages on the back patio when he saw Rebekah struggling to climb the stairs to the patio.

"Oh Rebekah, you overdid it didn't you?" Klaus said as he scooped up his sister from the bottom step.

"Will you put me to bed Nik? I'm so tired."

"Of course Bekah."

"Thanks brother" Rebekah said as she began to drift to sleep in his arms. "Love you Nik"

Before he had the chance to return the sentiment his sister was fast asleep in his arms.

The last time Klaus could remember doing this for Rebekah she was nowhere near as intoxicated but she was upset. It was that fateful summer that Caroline hadn't come back. Rebekah had been quiet the rest of the afternoon after discovering the one friend she looked forward to seeing every year was no longer around. Klaus had tucked her in and stayed with her through the night. He knew how much Caroline had meant to Rebekah. She had always sworn him to stay away from her. Rebekah had caught him looking at her adoringly one summer night before she had made her trek back home for the school year. Klaus had always found Caroline enchanting. Even at such a young age. He would've never been ready for her then though. It was a blessing in disguise that she had been gone for so long and they were now drawn back together.

As Klaus tucked Rebekah into her bed he thought back to that summer and how he had felt when he had discovered the light of his summer hadn't come home. He was upset but hid it very well. He didn't want anyone to know how much he had cared for the young girl. Everyone he ever cared about always got hurt by him so he kept his distance. He had even kept his distance from his own sister until recently. Rebekah had finally broken down his wall and got him to open up about himself to her. None of his family truly understood him until this year. They had never realized how much he felt like an outsider until now. He was so grateful that his sister cared so much to ask so many crazy questions and forced his way behind his walls. She was already teaching him to be a better man for her best friend and she didn't even know it.

"G'night Bekah." Klaus said as he retreated to the kitchen to grab a small snack before finally hitting the sheets. He would have to remember to thank her for everything in the morning.

…...

"Elena, have you seen Katherine? I think it's time we head back home" Bonnie said stifling a yawn.

"I haven't Bonnie. The last I had seen her she was throwing herself at Rebekah's oldest brother Elijah."

Bonnie giggled at that. "Well let's start looking for her. I'm exhausted and who knows what Caroline is gonna have us up to tomorrow"

"Katherine!" Elena called out for her twin sister.

"Miss Gilbert! We are over here" Elijah called back as quietly as he could, careful not to wake a sleeping Katherine in his lap.

"Oh my goodness Elijah! Are you guys ok? We've been looking for her everywhere!" Bonnie said as she approached them.

"We are fine. She just fell asleep and she looked peaceful and I couldn't stand to wake her." Elijah replied.

"I am so sorry about my sister Elijah" Elena said with a small smile. "She can be a little overwhelming"

"It's no problem Miss Gilbert. She was quite the company but I enjoyed it. How about I walk you ladies home. It's much too late for you to make the trek alone. I know this area like the back of my hand" Elijah offered.

"We would really appreciate that" Bonnie responded.

Elijah scooped Katherine up in his arms and lifted himself from the sand.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wake her up?" Elena asked.

"No, I don't mind. She was exhausted. This girl talked my ear off after she had a few drinks in her. To be honest I had been trying to muster up the courage to approach her but she approached me first." Elijah smiled at Bonnie and Elena.

"Well I'm glad she could keep you entertained" Elena smiled a genuine smile. Maybe her sister wouldn't screw this one up!

"Here you are ladies" Elijah said as he approached the front porch of the Forbes beach house.

"If you follow me Elijah you can bring her to her room." Elena said as she unlocked the house with the key Caroline had given her for the week.

"Of course" he said as he dutilly followed her through the house.

"Here we are" Elena sighed. "Thanks again for bringing us back. And again, I'm really sorry about Katherine tonight. I think she finds you intriguing but she tends to come off strong and then scares the good ones away."

"I don't scare easily" Elijah replied.

"Good. Well good night Elijah"

"Good night Miss Gilbert. I will let myself out and lock the door behind me. We will see you soon."

Elena glided down the hall thinking about how she hoped her sister would open up to someone this time. She thought Elijah Mikaelson might just be the man to get her to do it.

Elijah tucked Katherine in her bed and let himself out the front door again. He was pleasantly surprised with how his night had gone and he couldn't wait to see Katherine Gilbert again. She was just what he needed.


End file.
